Bloomberg Not Committing to Debate Yet

The date, time and location for the event have not been specified. But in a letter signed by the heads of the three groups which was sent to each of the mayoral campaigns, the candidates were asked for “response to this invitation within the next week.”

Jill Hazelbaker, a spokeswoman for the Bloomberg campaign, refused to say whether or not they planned on participating, saying the appropriate time to discuss debates would be “in the fall.”

Democratic candidates Bill Thompson and Tony Avella will be going, they say.

Bloomberg’s reluctance to attend a debate is not new, and fits in with his preference for attending well-controlled events. In 2005, he was criticized for not attending a debate against Fernando Ferrer at the Apollo Theater. Bloomberg said there was a legitimate security emergency that arose shortly before the event. Critics said he was ducking the event where he anticipated a less-than-receptive audience. Ultimately, the criticisms didn’t damage Bloomberg too badly.